Cajun Poached Shrimp Linguine

Recipe type: Marvelous Meals

Main ingredient: Shellfish

Summary
Spicy Cajun flavours kick up this easy cream sauce for added smoothness to the heat of the dish. Look for smoked sausages where they sell bacon and other deli meats in the grocery store.

Ingredients
1 lb (500 g) large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp (5 mL) paprika
2 smoked sausages (about 8 oz/250 g total), thinly sliced
1 tbsp (15 mL) all purpose flour
1 cup (250 mL) 10% half-and-half cream
½ cup (125 mL) water or reduced sodium chicken broth or stock
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 mL) chopped fresh thyme or ½ tsp (2 mL) dried
¼ tsp (1 mL) cayenne pepper
1 pkg (12 oz/350 g) fresh linguine pasta
1 green onion, thinly sliced


Cooking Tips: If the smoked sausages are spicy, reduce the cayenne pepper to 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL).

To keep the shrimp tender, maintain the cream mixture at a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary.

Directions
1. In a bowl, toss shrimp and paprika together to coat; set aside.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Panfry sausage slices, for about 4 min or until golden brown; transfer to a plate. Wipe out skillet with paper towel. Whisk flour into cream and add water.
3. Return skillet to medium-high heat and add cream mixture along with the garlic, thyme and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and add shrimp; simmer for about 4 min until shrimp are pink and firm. Return sausage to skillet and warm through.
4. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook linguine for about 3 min or until tender but firm. Drain well and add to skillet. Cook, stirring on low heat for about 2 min or until sauce coats pasta well.
5. Serve in shallow soup bowls and sprinkle with green onion.